Jerry Haynes
Encyclopedia
Jerome Martin "Jerry" Haynes (January 31, 1927 – September 26, 2011) was an American
actor
from Dallas, Texas
. He is most well known as Mr. Peppermint, a role he played for 30 years as the host of one of the longest-running local children's shows in television, the Dallas-based Mr. Peppermint (1961–1969), which was retitled Peppermint Place for its second run (1975–1996). He also had a long career in local and regional theater and appeared in more than 50 films. A 1944 graduate of Dallas' Woodrow Wilson High School
, he was the father of musician and lead singer Gibby Haynes
of the group Butthole Surfers
.
after attending Louisiana State University
and Yale
.
Early in the run of his show, an accident of fate made Haynes the first to report the Kennedy assassination on local news, together with his program director, Jay Watson. During lunch on the day of the shooting, the two men watched the Presidential motorcade pass on Main Street, and less than a minute later heard the deadly shots after the limousine turned onto Elm Street. The men quickly located and interviewed eyewitnesses, going on the air shortly later:
During these early years, the show began at 7:30 AM and ran for one hour, competing in its last half hour with the national CBS broadcast of Captain Kangaroo
but usually winning its time slot. National trends shifted, however, and in 1970, the show was replaced by a talk program for the adult audience. After the Federal Communications Commission
called in 1975 for more educational programming for children, the show was retooled as "Peppermint Place," a taped half-hour magazine-style program. The show continued in that format for over 20 years, eventually being syndicated to 108 markets nationwide before ending its run in 1996.
Crisis at Central High
, about the integration of Little Rock
's Central High School
, filmed in Dallas. Texas-themed films in which he has appeared — mostly based on true stories — include Houston: The Legend of Texas (1986), A Killing in a Small Town (1990, aka Evidence of Love), Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story (1992), Texas Justice (1995), Don't Look Back
(1996), and It's in the Water (1997).
His chief feature film roles included 1984's Places in the Heart
, as Deputy Jack Driscoll, and in the 1985 Patsy Cline biopic Sweet Dreams as Owen Bradley
, Cline's record producer. He also played minor roles in RoboCop
(1987) and Boys Don't Cry
(1999).
He also appeared as himself, partly through archive footage, in four documentary films discussing the Kennedy assassination: Rush to Judgment
(1967), 11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried (1989), Stalking the President: A History of American Assassins (1992), and Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film
(1998).
In 1996 the Lone Star Film & Television Awards honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He regularly appeared in the Red River, New Mexico
, Fourth of July parade in a peppermint-colored Jeep
.
in early 2008, and then was later diagnosed with a heart condition for which he received an artificial pacemaker
. His doctors later revised their opinions to determine that he had a less aggressive form of Parkinson's. Haynes died on September 26, 2011, from complications due to the diseases. He was 84.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
from Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. He is most well known as Mr. Peppermint, a role he played for 30 years as the host of one of the longest-running local children's shows in television, the Dallas-based Mr. Peppermint (1961–1969), which was retitled Peppermint Place for its second run (1975–1996). He also had a long career in local and regional theater and appeared in more than 50 films. A 1944 graduate of Dallas' Woodrow Wilson High School
Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas)
Woodrow Wilson High School is a public secondary school located at 100 South Glasgow Drive in the Lakewood neighborhood of East Dallas, Texas in the ZIP code 75214. It was named in honor of former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, who died just three years before the school building was completed...
, he was the father of musician and lead singer Gibby Haynes
Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome "Gibby" Haynes is an American musician, radio personality, and painter, and the lead singer of the group Butthole Surfers.-Early life and career:...
of the group Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
.
Early life
He was born in Dallas, Texas to Louise Schimelpfenig Haynes and Fred Haynes. In 1990, Haynes was inducted into Woodrow Wilson High School's Hall of Fame. Jerry graduated from Southern Methodist UniversitySouthern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
after attending Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
.
The "Mr. Peppermint" years
Haynes began his most famous role in 1961, playing a character who wore a red- and white-striped jacket and straw hat and carried a candy-striped magic cane. The original show ran for nine years as a live show, with Mr. Peppermint talking with a variety of puppet characters and including everything from cartoons to French lessons.Early in the run of his show, an accident of fate made Haynes the first to report the Kennedy assassination on local news, together with his program director, Jay Watson. During lunch on the day of the shooting, the two men watched the Presidential motorcade pass on Main Street, and less than a minute later heard the deadly shots after the limousine turned onto Elm Street. The men quickly located and interviewed eyewitnesses, going on the air shortly later:
During these early years, the show began at 7:30 AM and ran for one hour, competing in its last half hour with the national CBS broadcast of Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
but usually winning its time slot. National trends shifted, however, and in 1970, the show was replaced by a talk program for the adult audience. After the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
called in 1975 for more educational programming for children, the show was retooled as "Peppermint Place," a taped half-hour magazine-style program. The show continued in that format for over 20 years, eventually being syndicated to 108 markets nationwide before ending its run in 1996.
Other television and film work
Most of Haynes' film career was in made-for-television films, especially those set in his native Texas. His first film role was in the 1981 docudramaDocudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
Crisis at Central High
Crisis at Central High
Crisis at Central High was a 1981 made-for-television movie about the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957, based on a draft of the memoir by the same name by former assistant principal Elizabeth Huckaby....
, about the integration of Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
's Central High School
Central High School (Little Rock)
Little Rock Central High School is a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Central High School was the site of forced school desegregation during the American Civil Rights Movement.Central is located at the intersection of Daisy L...
, filmed in Dallas. Texas-themed films in which he has appeared — mostly based on true stories — include Houston: The Legend of Texas (1986), A Killing in a Small Town (1990, aka Evidence of Love), Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story (1992), Texas Justice (1995), Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (1996 film)
Don't Look Back is a made-for-HBO action movie/thriller directed by Geoff Murphy starring Eric Stoltz, John Corbett, Josh Hamilton and Billy Bob Thornton. It's the story of Jesse Parish, a heroin addict living in Los Angeles, who steals a suitcase full of drug money and immediately finds himself...
(1996), and It's in the Water (1997).
His chief feature film roles included 1984's Places in the Heart
Places in the Heart
Places in the Heart is a 1984 drama film that tells the story of a Texas widow who tries to keep her farm together with the help of a blind white man and an African-American man during the Great Depression...
, as Deputy Jack Driscoll, and in the 1985 Patsy Cline biopic Sweet Dreams as Owen Bradley
Owen Bradley
Owen Bradley was an American record producer who, along with Chet Atkins and Bob Ferguson, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly.-Before the fame:...
, Cline's record producer. He also played minor roles in RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
(1987) and Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry (film)
Boys Don't Cry is a 1999 American independent romantic drama film directed by Kimberly Peirce and co-written by Andy Bienen. The film is a dramatization of the real-life story of Brandon Teena, a transgender man played by Hilary Swank, who pursues a relationship with a young woman, played by Chloë...
(1999).
He also appeared as himself, partly through archive footage, in four documentary films discussing the Kennedy assassination: Rush to Judgment
Rush to Judgment
Rush to Judgment is a book by American lawyer Mark Lane. It is about the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and takes issue with the conclusions of the Warren Commission, suggesting there was a conspiracy to assassinate John F...
(1967), 11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried (1989), Stalking the President: A History of American Assassins (1992), and Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film
Zapruder film
The Zapruder film is a silent, color motion picture sequence shot by private citizen Abraham Zapruder with a home-movie camera, asU.S. President John F...
(1998).
In 1996 the Lone Star Film & Television Awards honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He regularly appeared in the Red River, New Mexico
Red River, New Mexico
Red River is a resort town in Taos County, New Mexico, United States located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 484 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, Fourth of July parade in a peppermint-colored Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
.
Health
Haynes was diagnosed with Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
in early 2008, and then was later diagnosed with a heart condition for which he received an artificial pacemaker
Artificial pacemaker
A pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes contacting the heart muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart...
. His doctors later revised their opinions to determine that he had a less aggressive form of Parkinson's. Haynes died on September 26, 2011, from complications due to the diseases. He was 84.